Car roof



May 3, 1927. 1,627,373

C. D. BONSALL CAR ROOF Filed June 2]., 1926 24a/G* M24 Patented May 3,1927.

UNITED STATES `PATENT OFFICE.Y

CHARLES DAVID BONSALL, OF PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR TO P. H.MURPHY COMPANY, OF NEW KENSINGTON, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION 0FPENNSYLVANIA.

CAR ROOF.

Application filed :une 21, 1926. serial No. 117,331. y

My invention relates principally to that type of flexible outside metalcar roof Wherein light gage rooting sheets are loosely connected alongtheir adjacent margins by seam covers that permit relative movement ofsaid root sheets to a limited extent in accommodating themselves to thedistortions of the car body.

rlhe principal object of the present invention is an improved seamconstruction that will permit a limited sliding movement of the root'sheets transversely of said seam cover and will secure a sluing oroscillatory movement of said sheets in all positions of their slidingmovement. Other objeets'are simplicity and cheapness of construction7compactness and economy of design and ease of assembly.

The invention consists principally in loosely connecting adjacent sheetsby means of a seam cover having separate sliding and pivotal connectionswith said sheets. The invention further consists in the parts and in thecombinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the accompanying drawing which :forms part of this specication andwherein like symbols refer to like parts Wherever they occur,

Fig. 1 is a plan View ot' a flexible outslde metal car roof embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse section through one of the side seams on the line2 2 in Fig. r1;

Fig. 3 is a transverse section through the roof at the eaves on the line3-3 in Fig. 1;

Fig. 4t is a fragmentary plan View, showing the slidable and pivotalconnections between the ridge seam cap and the roof sheets;

Fig. 5 is a. vertical cross section through the ridge seam onthe line5-5 in Fig. 4; and

Fig. 6 is an enlarged detail section on the line 6 6 of Fig. 5.

Referring to the accompanying drawing', my invention is shown inconnection with a car having wooden roof sheathing 7 supported on sideplates 8 and a ridge pole 9. Metal roof sheets 10 are arranged on` theroof sheathing 7 side by side in two rows on opposite sides of theridge, the two rows of roof sheets being spaced apart at the ridge andthe sheets in each row being spaced apart at their sides. The roofsheets on op- .the car and rest on the said battens.

inwardly and downwardly over the body portions of the sheets to formupstanding hook-shaped side and ridge seam flanges 12 and 13. The eavesends of the roof sheets are doubled under to form hook flangesll thatloosely engage the doubled over hook iianges 15'al of angle flashingstrips 15 secured to the eaves oi the car, such arrangement serving toloosely'retain the sheets von the car at the eaves. The adjacent sideseam flanges 12 of the sheets, together with the mullions 11 locatedtherebetween, are preferably covered by inverted channelshapedtransverse or side seam covers or caps 16 that extend from eaves toridge of The side seam covers 1.6 have inwardly and npwardly extendinghook flanges 17 at their lower edges that interlock with the upstandingside seam flangesy 12 of adjacent sheets. The eaves ends of the sideseam covers are loosely held in position by extensions 16l that areturned down over the eaves ends of the mullions 11 and are thence turnedunder the eaves corners of the roof sheets and hooked into the doubledback iianges 15a of the eaves flashing strips 15.

Pressed metalridge seam covers or caps 18 of substantially invertedchannel-shaped section straddle the spaced ridge langesl?, of adjacentsheets and have outstanding base flanges 19 that rest on the bodyportions of said sheets inside theridge and side seam ianges thereof.The adjacent ends of the ridge seam covers 1S and the transverse seamcovers 16 are held in position on the car by means of the usualpan-shaped .tour-way corner caps 2O that are secured in position bymeans of vertical bolts 21, which also secure the running board saddles(not shown) in position.

The base flanges 19 ofthe ridge seam covers 18 are pressed upward midwayof their length to form downwardly opening grooves 22 that extendtransversely of said base flanges from side to side thereof. The twogrooves on the under sides of the two base flanges of each ridge cap aredisposed in alinement transversely of the cap and are made wider attheir ends than at their mid: die, preferably by bowing' or curvingtheir opposing side walls away from each other from end to end of saidgrooves to form opposing convex surfaces in the sides thereof. he ridgeend portions of the body portions of the sheets are provided midway oftheir side margins with upstanding ribs 24 that extend transversely ofthe seam covers and are straddled by the downwardly opening grooves 22in the base flanges thereof.

The width of the narrow middle portions of the grooves in the baseflanges of the seam `covers corresponds to the width of the upstandingribs 24 on the roof sheets, whereby said ribs have a snug fit in thesaid grooves midway of their length and are normally spaced therefrom attheir ends.

By the arrangement described, the ridge ends of the sheets are properlycentered between adjacent roof mullions by the rib and grooveconnections between the body portions of the roof sheets and the baseflanges of the ridge seam covers; and said sheets are adapted toaccommodate themselves automatically to the distortions of the car bodyby sliding towards and away from each other along the transverse groovesin the base flanges of theridge seam covers and by rocking upon theconvex ofsaid grooves.

An important advantage of the above arrangement is that it secures asluing or pivotal movement of the sheets around points located in theregion of the middle of their ridge ends in all positions of theirsliding movement. @ther advantages of the present construction are thecheapness and simplicity of the construction of the roof sheets andridge seam covers and the ease with which they may be assembled on thecar.

The invention is not restricted to the precise shapes and arrangementsof parts shown and described.

1What I claim is:

l. A flexible car roof comprising roof sheets arranged on the car sideby side, a seam cover covering adjacent margins of said sheets, andmeans on the marginal portions of said seam covers cooperating withmeans on said roof sheets for permitting sliding movement of said roofsheets transversely of said seam covers and sluing movement of said roofsheets on said seam covers in substantially all positions of suchsliding movement.

2. A flexible car roof comprising roof sheets arranged on the car sideby side, a

seam cover covering adjacent margins of said sheets, and means on eachsheet cooperating with means on the adjacent marginal portion of saidseam cover for permitting independent sliding n'iovement of said roofsheets transversely of said seam cover and preventing bodily movement ofsaid sheets longitudinally of said seam cover.

3. A flexiblel car roof comprising roofI sheets arranged on the car sideby side, a seam cover covering adjacent margins of said sheets, andmeans on said sheets cooperating with means on the marginal portions ofsaid seam cover for permitting independent sliding movement of saidsheets transversely of said seam cover, said cooperating meanspermitting independent-sluing movement of said sheets around pointslocated in the region of their adjacent marginsand preventing bodilymovement of said sheets longitudinally of said seam cover.

4L. A ftexible car roof comprising roof sheets arranged on the car sideby side, a seam cover covering adjacent margins of said sheets, andtongue and groove connections between the body port-ions of said sheetsand the marginal portions of said seam covers, said connectionspermitting independent sliding movement of said sheets transversely ofsaid seam cover.

5. A flexible car roof comprising .roof sheets arranged on the car side'by side, a seam cover covering adjacent margins of said sheets, andtongue and groove connections between the body portions of said sheetsand the marginal portions of said seam covers, said connectionspermitting independent sliding movement of said sheets transversely ofsaid seam cover, said tongue and groove connections also permittingindependent sluing movement of said sheets relative to said seam cover.

6. A fiexible car roof comprising roof sheets arranged on the car sideby side, a seam cover covering adjacent margins of said sheets andhaving base flanges resting thereon, and sliding connections between thebody portions of said roof sheets and the base flanges of said seamcover.

7. A flexible car roof comprising roof sheetsarranged on the car side byside, and a seam cover covering adjacent marginal portions of saidsheets, said sheets being pro vided with upstanding ribs adapted toengage transverse grooves provided therefor in the marginal portions ofsaid seam cover.

8. A flexible car roof comprising roof sheets arranged on the car sideby side, and n seam cover covering adjacent marginal portions of saidsheets, said sheets being provided with upstanding ribs adapted toengage transverse grooves provided therefor on the marginal portions ofsaid seam cover, said grooves being wider at their ends than at theirmiddle.

9. A iexible car roof comprising roof sheets arranged on the car side byside and provided along their adjacent margins with upstanding seamflanges, and a seam cover straddling adjacent seam flanges of saidsheets and having marginal base flanges resting on the body portions ofsaid sheets, said roof sheet having tongue and groove connections withthe marginal flanges of said seam cover that permit sliding movement ofthe sheets crosswise of said seam cover and sluing movement of saidsheets in substantially all positions of their sliding movement.

10. A seam cover for a car root, said seam cover being of substantiallyinverted channel shaped section and having laterally eXtending baseflanges that are provided with downwardly opening transverse grooves,said grooves being wider attheir ends than at their middle.

11. A car roof sheet comprising a body ortion having a anged margin anda holow elongated rib near the middle of and extending transverse tosaid margin and adapted to cooperate with a transverse groove in a seamcover.

Signed at New Kensington, Pa., this 16th day of June, 1926.

CHARLES DAVID BONSALL.

